In the illustration, the battleship "Emperor Alexander III" is fighting with the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Tsuim, May 14, 1905.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III" Type "Tsesarevich" (Russian construction)
Displacement, t 15275
Length, m 121.3
Width, m 23.2
Draft, m 8.9
2 machines with total power, hp 15800
Screws, pcs. 2
Belleville boilers, pcs. 20
Speed, knots 17.2 - 17.6
Coal reserve, t up to 1235
Cruising range (at 10 knots), miles 3200
Side armor, mm 102 – 194
Cutting booking, mm 51 – 203
Booking anti-torpedo bulkhead, mm 43
Booking casemate, mm 75
Gun armor, mm 76
Reservation of the GK tower, mm 63 - 254
Reservation tower SK, mm 30 - 152
Deck armor, mm 70 - 89
Armor total weight, t 3555
Crew, pers. 28/754
Crew (before the Battle of Tsushima), pers. 30/828 - 837
Armament: 4 - 305/40 mm, 12 - 152/45 mm, 20 - 75/50 mm, 20 - 47 mm, 2 - 37 mm, 10 machine guns; 2 overhead and 2 sub. tory. app. 381 mm.
To the blessed memory of the Russian noble military youth ...
The battleship named after the Great Autocrat of Great Russia Alexander III joined the fleet on October 12, 1903, under the command of Captain 1st Rank Bukhvostov, a direct descendant of the first Russian soldier Sergei Bukhvostov. The battleship was enlisted in the Guards crew, exemplary officers and sailors served on it, during the campaign of the second Pacific squadron the battleship was the most exemplary in the squadron. However, not an easy fate awaited this fighting giant, on board of which, according to contemporaries, served "Cute, courageous youth, resembling rather adult children." Even during the launching, a tragic incident occurred when several people were killed by a broken flagpole. It was truly an omen of fate, those difficult trials through which the battleship had to go, and the Fatherland that he defended.
The battleship entered the main detachment of battleships of the Second Squadron Pacific Ocean which went to the aid of the First Squadron locked in Port Arthur. Before sailing, Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich personally visited him, praised the sailors for their exemplary service and reminded that the battleship bears the name of his late father, the Emperor.
On October 2, 1904, the second squadron moved from Libau on its march across three oceans. Without going into the details of this campaign, let's say that the battleship was one of the best during the campaign, there was not one major breakdown on it, no one went crazy and did not desert, even during the tedious parking near the coast of Madagascar, the team was an example for other ships squadrons, demonstrating high combat training and organization of work. And his crew was determined to fight to the end. Letters home of Lieutenant Prince Gagarin can serve as a valuable source telling about the life of an armadillo.
So, having gone a long way, more than half a year of hard, exhausting swimming, from the cold winds of the North Sea, to the sweltering heat of Africa. Arriving at the Korean Strait by May 13, 1905, the Battle of Tsushima took place on the afternoon of May 14. This day was not destined to survive more than one person from the "Alexander III". The active phase of the battle began at 13:49 when the battleship Knyaz Suvorov opened fire from her main battery guns.
The commander of the Japanese fleet, Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo, built Japanese battleships and cruisers in such a way that they could shoot the lead ships of the Russian squadron one at a time with the guns of their sides. Performing the classic "T" crossing. The battleship Knyaz Suvorov was the first to blaze and leave the battlefield, in its place was Alexander III. Skillfully maneuvering, he tried to bring the squadron out of enemy fire. The whole flurry of a dozen and a half major Japanese ships hit the Russian battleship. The guns of "Alexander III" were also not silent, and fired at the enemy ships. They did this under unthinkable conditions, here and there Japanese shells exploded, stuffed with a special explosive - shimoza, which ignited easily, creating fires. In one voice, the chroniclers of the battle at Tsushima, from Captain Semyonov and Novikov-Priboy to Lieutenant Taube, noted the catastrophic destruction on the Alexander III, and with all this, the battleship fought to the last. She sank at about 18:55 on May 14, 1905, of the nine hundred members of the crew, not one escaped. The cruisers "Emerald" and "Vladimir Monomakh" followed to the place of death of the battleship, but there were no survivors. We will never know what happened on the battleship in his last hours, there was no one to tell about it, only nine hundred people died. From Captain Bukhvostov and Lieutenant Gagarin to the last fireman. Many in our country know about the death of the Titanic, and shed tears over the fate of the main characters of the film of the same name, but wouldn’t it be better for us to remember our heroes, in the person of the heroic crew of the battleship Emperor Alexander III, who honorably fulfilled his duty to the Motherland. Many accused our fleet as a whole, and Vice Admiral Rozhdestvensky in particular, of a shameful defeat, but we can only say that the Russian sailors made an almost round-the-world trip, they did something that no fleet had done before or after them, they showed Spartan qualities and honorably fulfilled their duty to the Sovereign and the Fatherland!
In 1906, a monument to the battleship "Emperor Alexander III" was erected in St. Petersburg near the Nikolsky Cathedral. After the revolution, the boards with the names of the dead were cut down in the most barbaric way. In 1973, new boards were hung, but a number of surnames disappeared, these are lieutenants Gagarin and Tovten, Dr. Bertenson, and the surname of the ship's priest.
In the Nikolsky Naval Cathedral adjoining from the north, in 1908, a monument was erected to the sailors who died in the battle near Tsushima Island on May 14, 1905. Therefore, this monument is also called the Tsushima obelisk.
A monument is dedicated to the sailors of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III", who died during the Battle of Tsushima on May 14-15, 1905 as part of the 2nd Pacific Flotilla. In that battle, the Russian fleet suffered a severe defeat. Not only did the Japanese fleet outnumber the Russian fleet in the number of ships, but in terms of their tactical data, the Japanese battleships were much stronger than the Russians. In addition, the commander of the Russian squadron, Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky, both before the battle and during it, made indecision and tactical mistakes. But the actions of sailors and officers during the battle showed examples of heroism and devotion to the oath.
Shortly after this mournful event, at a meeting of officers of the Guards crew, it was decided to start raising funds for the construction of a monument to the dead. In the autumn of 1907, an officer of the Guards Corps, Colonel M.S. Putyatin presented the design and drawing of the monument, which was approved by the emperor. The order for execution was received by the architect Yakov Ivanovich Filotei, the owner of the workshop for the manufacture of monuments. The sculptural work was done by the sculptor Artemy Lavrentievich Ober.
On the third anniversary of the Battle of Tsushima on May 15, 1908, in the presence of Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, representatives of foreign powers and relatives of the dead crew members, the grand opening of the monument took place.
A four-sided pedestal made of red fine-grained granite sits on a three-step black granite base. A pyramidal column crowned with a bronze eagle with a cross is placed on a pedestal. On all four sides of the pedestal there are bronze plaques with the names of the fallen heroes.
The front eastern side of the monument is decorated in the most interesting way. Above the pedestal, surrounded by a laurel wreath, there is a medallion with the image of a sea anchor and the dates of the campaign of the Baltic Fleet squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky: "1904-1905". Under the medallion in the upper part of the face of the pedestal there is a plate with the date of the death of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III": "May 14, 1905". Below is a bronze bas-relief of an armadillo in battle, surrounded by shell explosions. Below it is a bronze plaque with a list of the battleship's command staff:
"Commander Captain 1st Rank N. BUKHVOSTOV
Senior officer captain 1st rank V. NEPLYANNIKOV
Art. Auditor Lieutenant A. Voevodsky 2nd
Art. mine officer captain 2nd rank K. Staal 1st
Junior min. office late. V. Ignatiev
Art. artillery office. late. W. Ellis 1st
ml. artillery office late. E. Demidov»
The battleship of the Baltic Fleet "Emperor Alexander III" was laid down on May 11, 1900 in St. Petersburg at the Baltic Shipyard, launched on July 21 (August 3), 1901, and put into operation in 1903. Equipped with a Guards crew. The developer of the battleship project was a ship engineer, senior shipbuilder of the Baltic Shipyard Vladimir Khristianovich Offenberg (1856-1927).
During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, he was sent to Far East as part of the 2nd Pacific squadron.
The squadron has come a long way. More than half a year of hard sailing, from the cold winds of the North Sea to the sweltering heat of Africa. The battleship arrived at the Korean Strait on May 13, 1905, and on the afternoon of May 14, the Battle of Tsushima took place. "Emperor Alexander III" sank the next day.
During the battle, after the failure of the flagship battleship "Prince Suvorov", "Emperor Alexander III" led the battle column of Russian ships. He took on the fire of twelve Japanese ships. Soon he himself received serious damage in the bow and moved to the center of the squadron, giving way to the Borodino as the lead. Ridged with shells, alternately listing either on one or the other side, the battleship was more than once ready to go to the bottom. However, the surviving sailors, without ceasing to shoot, coped with the roll and the "Emperor Alexander III" continued to resist. The Japanese fleet outnumbered the Russian one in the number of ships, and according to their tactical data, the Japanese battleships were much stronger than the Russians.
For the last half hour before his death, he was under concentrated fire. armored cruisers Nissin and Kassuga. Sunk on May 14 (27), 1905 at 18:50.
The captain of the 1st rank Bukhvostov Nikolai Mikhailovich commanded the squadron battleship. Before the departure of the 2nd Pacific squadron from the Kronshdat harbor, he uttered prophetic words: "We will all die ... but none of us will surrender." Of the 857 crew members, not a single person escaped.
Soon after the death of the battleship, at a meeting of officers of the Guards crew, it was decided to start raising funds for the construction of a monument to the dead. In the autumn of 1907, an officer of the Guards Corps, Colonel, a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Prince Mikhail Sergeevich Putyatin (1861-1938), presented a project and drawing of the monument, which received the approval of the Emperor.
The Russian sculptor-animalist Ober Artemy (Arthur) Lavrentievich (1843-1917) and the architect Filotey Yakov Ivanovich (1875-1920s) worked on the monument, the owner of a workshop for the manufacture of monuments.
The total height of the monument is 8.5 meters.
A four-sided obelisk made of red fine-grained polished granite mounted on a three-stage base is crowned with an image of an eagle with a cross, and bronze wreaths are reinforced below.
On the north side of the monument in the medallion there is an inscription in cast characters of the Old Slavonic style: Greater / sowing love to no one / to have, but who / to lay down his soul / for / his friends / Evang. John XV. 13.
On the bas-relief with the image of an armadillo in the lower right corner there is an inscription: A. Ober; on the lower step of the stylobate from the side of the cathedral: Thomson - Fulo / Troitskaya st., 4.
On the western side in a medallion: Heroes / Battleship / Emperor / Alexander III / Guards / Crew.
The front eastern side of the monument: above the pedestal, surrounded by a laurel wreath, there is a medallion with the image of a sea anchor and the dates of the campaign of the Baltic Fleet squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky: "1904-1905". Under the medallion in the upper part of the face of the pedestal there is a plate with the date of the death of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III": "May 14, 1905". Below is a bronze bas-relief of an armadillo in battle, surrounded by shell explosions. Below it is a bronze plaque with a list of the command staff of the battleship:
"Commander Captain 1st Rank N. BUKHVOSTOV
Senior officer captain 1st rank V. NEPLYANNIKOV
Art. Auditor Lieutenant A. Voevodsky 2nd
Art. mine officer captain 2nd rank K. Staal 1st
Junior min. office late. V. Ignatiev
Art. artillery office. late. W. Ellis 1st
ml. artillery office late. E. Demidov"
On the other sides of the pedestal there are bronze plaques with a list of the names of the deceased crew of the battleship.
The grand opening of the monument took place on the third anniversary of the Battle of Tsushima on May 15, 1908.
It was attended by the august chief of the Guards crew - the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who laid on the monument an icon of St. Nicholas with a touching inscription in honor of the dead. The entire crew and relatives of the victims were also present.
After the revolution, the boards with the names of the dead were cut down.
In 1973, new boards were hung, but a number of names disappeared - lieutenants Grigory Grigoryevich Gagarin and Eduard Antonovich Tovten, junior ship mechanics, junior ship's doctor, doctor of medicine Boris Lvovich Bertenson and the ship's priest, father Alexander (Nedrygailo).
Address: St. Petersburg, Nikolskaya Square, Nikolsky Garden (the square near the middle of the 20th century changed its status and became a garden).
Tsushima obelisk. Behind him is St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral. |
Photo: 2007. |
Tsushima obelisk in Nikolsky garden. |
The medallion of the eastern side of the monument: above the pedestal, surrounded by a laurel wreath, is the image of a sea anchor and the date of the campaign of the Baltic Fleet squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky: "1904-1905". |
On the northern side of the Tsushima obelisk in the medallion there is an inscription in cast signs of the Old Slavonic style: Greater / sowing love to no one / to have, but who / to lay down his soul / for / his friends / Evang. John XV. 13. |
On the western side of the obelisk in the medallion there is an inscription: To Heroes / Battleship / Emperor / Alexander III / Guards / Crew. |
On the northern side of the obelisk in the medallion is a map of the battleship's progress from the North Sea to the Korea Strait. |
Tsushima obelisk. The front eastern side of the monument: Under the medallion in the upper part of the pedestal face there is a plate with the date of the death of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III": "May 14, 1905". Below is a bronze bas-relief of an armadillo in battle, surrounded by shell explosions. Below it is a bronze plaque with a list of the command staff of the battleship. |
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Commemorative plaque with a list of the names of the crew. |
Tsushima obelisk. Bronze commemorative plaque with a list of the names of the dead crew of the battleship. |
Photo: 2016. Photo: Vozlyadovskaya A.M., Guminenko M.V., 2006-2018. |
"15" May 1908 (according to the new style "27" May) on the day of the next anniversary of the Tsushima battle in front of the Nikolo-Bogoyavlensky Naval Cathedral in St. Petersburg was inaugurated monument to the fallen heroes of the battleship "Emperor Alexander III".
After a memorial service for those who died at Tsushima, those who prayed in the cathedral gathered in the park near the monument, which was still covered with a shroud. There were families, relatives and friends dead sailors, representatives of the guards regiments. The royal family was represented by Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna and Queen of the Hellenes Olga Konstantinovna. There were also the son and daughter of Alexander III - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and grand duchess Olga Alexandrovna.
Sailors from the guards crew surrounded the area around the monument with their front. A procession of the cross led by the rector, mitered archpriest Kondratov, left the cathedral. The guard saluted, the music played "Kol is glorious." When the procession approached the monument, drums were beaten, the veil fell from the monument, the deacon proclaimed eternal memory in the sea to the dead, and with quiet solemn singing of the chanters, the empress, the queen and all those present in the square knelt down. Then flowers and wreaths were laid at the foot of the obelisk.
No. 22 of the Niva magazine for 1908 presents photographs from this commemorative ceremony. Photographer - famous Karl Bulla.
Although the obelisk was dedicated specifically to the crew of the battleship Alexander III, but in fact (and this 
a fact recognized by all) it was a monument to all sailors - the heroes who fell at Tsushima. So they began to call him unofficially "Tsushima Obelisk". This name has survived to this day.
The capital for the construction of this monument was collected by the Guards crew. Granite obelisk created by sculptor Artemy Lavrentievich Ober(1843 - 1917) and architect Yakov Ivanovich Filotey(1875 - 1920s) based on the sketch of the Colonel of the Life Guards of the Prince's Preobrazhensky Regiment Mikhail Sergeevich Putyatin(01/02/1861 - 05/24/1938), who began his military service as a naval officer.
A round bronze plaque was built into the monument with the words from the Gospel: “No one has more sowing love, but who will lay down his life for his friends”.
Another round bronze plaque indicates that this monument was erected by the Guards crew to the "Heroes of the battleship" Emperor Alexander III ".
On the front side of the monument there is a bronze plaque with a bas-relief depicting the battleship "Alexander III" in battle with shell explosions around it. Above is the inscription "14" May 1905.
On the opposite side, a rectangular bronze plaque depicts geographical map, on which the route of the battleship "Alexander III" around Africa to the distant Sea of Japan is plotted. It took the Second Pacific Squadron seven months to get from the Baltic to the Korea Strait, where the combined Japanese squadron of Admiral Togo was waiting for her.
Also on the monument are bronze plaques with a list of some of the dead crew members of the battleship.
TSUSHIMA:
Admiral Togo concentrated cannon fire on the leading ship of the Russian squadron - the flagship "Suvorov". It soon broke down. A Russian participant in the battle recalled:
“And it was then that the battleship Alexander III appeared to replace the Suvorov, with the name of which the most terrible memories of the horrors of Tsushima will forever remain associated ... All the fire of twelve Japanese ships fell on this battleship. And he, taking upon himself the brunt of the artillery strike, saved the rest of our ships at the cost of his death. In the hopeless situation of the battle, he sometimes even showed the initiative that he was capable of, more than once covered the Suvorov with himself and tried to break through to the north under the tail of the enemy column. Once he managed to take advantage of the fog and temporarily withdraw the squadron from under fire. For several hours, with outstanding courage, he fought against the overwhelming forces of the enemy ... The battleship "Alexander III" finally could not withstand the enemy onslaught ... they saw how he fell on his side, like a chopped oak ... Then he immediately turned over and about two minutes continued to swim in this position ... The remaining ships, fighting with the enemy, moved on. Where the "Alexander III" was, large waves rolled, shaking on their ridges the floating fragments of a tree, mute signs of a terrible drama. OUT OF ALMOST NINE HUNDRED PERSONS OF THE BATTLESHIP CREW, NOT A SINGLE LEFT ALIVE ...»
Boards with crew lists and bas-reliefs during the years of Soviet power were dismantled and melted down from the monument, and those that are available today were recreated from sketches and photographs only in 1973 (I could not confirm or refute this information anywhere on the network).
Materials used:
Painting by artist Dmitry Golubev. "Shot".
(squadron battleship "Emperor Alexander III").
The full list of the dead crew can be viewed
"... Kokovtsev turned his head, and an incredible sight arose before him: the skeleton of a ship, which no longer had either masts or pipes, rolled past the Suvorov, it was moving with a strong list, its starboard side was red-hot, like a baking sheet, smoke from the stokers ...
Echoes of a forgotten war. Battleship "Alexander III"
Places of interest, Tourist information, Culture in Russia, St. Petersburg; South Korea, Busan Metropolitan City
“We will all die ... but none of us will give up” - Nikolai Mikhailovich Bukhvostov, commander of the battleship Alexander III
"... Kokovtsev turned his head, and an incredible sight arose before him: the skeleton of a ship that no longer had either masts or pipes rolled past the Suvorov, it was moving with a strong list, its starboard side was red-hot, like a baking sheet, smoke from stokers not from the pipes, but directly from the deck, as if fire-breathing volcanoes were working inside the ship. And the entire bow was opened like a miserable tin can. But it still went. It still fired!
- Who is it? - could not recognize the Kokovtsev ship.
- This is "Alexander III", he got ... the poor fellow.
This was not what struck Kokovtsev - something else! On the bridge of the armadillo, in very calm poses, like summer residents on a veranda, officers stood leaning on the handrails and talked peacefully, and around them everything collapsed, everything died in the flames.
- Guards, - said Kokovtsev. "God help them."
V. Pikul, "Three ages of Okini-san"
On May 27-28 (old style 14-15) May 1905, the Russian 2nd Pacific squadron took battle in the Sea of Japan near the island of Tsushima ... This year marks the 110th anniversary of this one of the most tragic episodes in history Russian fleet. I will not describe the course of the battle and its results - this information on the Internet is enough. The purpose of my note is to honor the memory of the sailors who participated in this battle. To do this, I decided to make a photo tour of the places of St. Petersburg associated with that war.
There is an obelisk in the garden of the Moscow Nikolsky (more correctly, Nikolo-Bogoyavlensky) Cathedral. It was installed in 1908 by the sailors of the Guards crew on the third anniversary of the battle in memory of those who died on the battleship Alexander III. This obelisk should become the end point of the photo report. And I decided to start the walk from the checkpoint of the Baltic Plant ...
May 11, 1900 in St. Petersburg at the Baltic Shipyard, in a solemn ceremony, the lead ship of a new series of Russian squadron battleships, the Emperor Alexander III, was laid down. In July 1901, the battleship was ready to be launched. The ceremony took place on July 21, 1901 in the presence of the imperial family.
... However, the solemn moment was overshadowed by a sad incident: a sudden gust of wind from the roof of the boathouse tore off the heavy flagpole with the imperial standard, which collapsed into the crowd of spectators. Three people died...
On October 12, 1903, the battleship was commissioned. From September 8, 1903, he was completed by the Guards crew.
I decided to take a walk to the Baltic Plant from the Primorskaya metro station, and there I would start taking pictures quietly. In vain. 40 minutes of wasted time - until I got to the intended point. However, I took a few pictures on the Kozhevennaya line - buildings of factories built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
Monuments of the 18th century also turned out to be in these industrial areas. It's a pity that no one wants to deal with them:
This is the mansion of the Brusnitsyns, owners of leather factories. Built in the time of Catherine II...
But the Oblique Line turned out to be livelier. There were even flowering apple trees on it!
On the Oblique Line, the building of the school named after S.O. Makarov, the admiral who died near Port Arthur ... The building was built at the end of the 19th century and today it makes an excellent impression - everything is beautifully restored, the territory is clean and tidy:
Well, I got to the main entrance of the Baltic Plant:
And, cheers! Neva. Not front. Working, port and shipbuilding:
Well, Neva -
... is inextricably linked with Russian navy, at all times:
Last look at the factory Neva...
The Russian guard... Probably, it was no coincidence that Nikolai Mikhailovich Bukhvostov turned out to be the commander of the battleship "Alexander III". It was his ancestor, Sergei Leontyevich Bukhvostov (1659 - 1728) - a Russian officer, who in 1683 was the first to enroll in the amusing Preobrazhensky regiment of Peter the Great and was nicknamed Peter "the first Russian soldier." And certainly he was the first Russian guardsman.
Very close to the Baltic Shipyard, on the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, is the former Marine Cadet Corps. Now, after numerous renamings, mergers and divisions, this educational institution is called "Naval Corps of Peter the Great - St. Petersburg Naval Institute" ... Almost all officers and admirals of the Russian fleet were graduates of the Marine Corps.
On September 12, 1873, N.I. Bukhvostov was admitted to the Naval Cadet Corps. September 18, 1903, exactly 30 years later, he became the commander of "Alexander III".
In front of the Marine Corps there is a monument to Ivan Kruzenshtern. Although he is not a hero of the Russian-Japanese, he could not help but photograph him:
Approaching the Annunciation Bridge (former Lieutenant Schmidt Bridge),
I remembered another person whose fate was connected with the Russo-Japanese War. This is the battle painter Vereshchagin, who died in Port Arthur along with Admiral Makarov on the battleship Petropavlovsk. Vereshchagin was also a graduate of the Marine Corps, and then graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts (today - the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture named after I. E. Repin):
From Vasilyevsky Island, the further way to the other side of the Bolshaya Neva, to the English Embankment:
There is a memorial sign erected in honor of another ship, a participant in the Tsushima battle - the Aurora cruiser. From this place, a blank shot was fired, which served as the beginning of the assault on the Winter Palace in October 1917 ... It is thanks to this shot that the cruiser, a participant in the Russo-Japanese War, has survived to this day.
A look back at Vasilyevsky. But already - across the Neva:
A chapel has been built at the very end of the Promenade des Anglais... This place is already directly related to our topic. Here stood the Church of the Savior on the Waters, built in 1911. The unique temple-monument became "a symbol of a mass grave for the heroes-sailors who died without burial" in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. One of the St. Petersburg newspapers wrote: “Where the Neva, having passed all the canopies of bridges, freely carries its waves into the sea, on the shore, deafened by the noise of the New Admiralty, a white temple rises ... This temple of Christ the Savior, built for the eternal commemoration of sailors killed in Russian -Japanese War.
On March 8, 1932, the temple was finally closed and soon blown up, despite thousands of signatures collected in its defense...
May 27, 1998 - on the 93rd anniversary of the Tsushima battle, a chapel was founded on the site of the temple. With the blessing of Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, a foundation stone was laid at the foundation of the new chapel, a marble plaque with a canonical commemorative text and the St. George Cross, brought from France by the grandson of one of the builders of the first Church of the Savior on the Waters. On May 23, 2002, a solemn raising of the cross to the chapel took place. The shape of the cross of the chapel is similar to the shape of the Savior-on-Waters cross: a stylized steering wheel and anchors are used in the silhouette. On May 24, 2003, the chapel was solemnly consecrated.
It looked like a blown up temple:
Today, the chapel is located practically on the territory of the Admiralty Shipyards plant (before the revolution - the New Admiralty and the Shipyard on Galerny Island), from the stocks of which other battleships of the series - Borodino and Orel - left. The fourth - "Prince Suvorov", like "Alexander III" was made at the Baltic Shipyard. Three of the four battleships died at Tsushima. Only "Eagle" was among those who surrendered to the Japanese along with the remnants of the squadron ...
Even in such industrial areas
Peter doesn't stop being Peter:
The road to the next goal leads to places closely related to the history of the Russian fleet - the island of New Holland, the Alekseevsky Palace (belonged to the brother of Alexander III, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the chief head of the fleet and the Naval Department. Resigned after Tsushima),
Decembrists Street, formerly called Ofitserskaya...
The concentration of temples of all possible denominations:
Guards crew - the naval part of the Russian Imperial Guard. It was formed on February 16, 1810 and was located on the embankment of the Griboedov Canal (Ekatrininsky Canal), next to the Kryukov Canal. The crew of the battleship "Alexander III" was completed by the guardsmen. The Russian Guard did not disgrace the honor of the banners in the Tsushima tragedy ...
Here it is, the Guards crew:
In the spring of 1752, the President of the Admiralty Board, General-Admiral Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, filed a petition to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna: “In retribution worthy of the memory of the glorious deeds of the Russian fleet ...” at the expense of the Naval Department and voluntary fees, build a stone church in the city of St. Peter in honor of the patron sailors - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. On June 16, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on the construction of a new stone church to replace the dilapidated wooden St. Nicholas Church.
The lower church in the name of St. Nicholas was consecrated by Archbishop Sylvester during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna on December 5, 1760, on the eve of the temple feast. On the same day, the right side of the lower church was consecrated in honor of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. On July 20, 1762, Archbishop Veniamin of St. Petersburg, in the presence of Empress Catherine II, consecrated the upper church in honor of the Epiphany and the lower left limit in honor of the newly glorified Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
Initially, the temple, founded in the Sea Sloboda, was destined for the fate of an ordinary parish church for employees of the admiralty factories and residents of the surrounding areas. But in reality, the temple has become a monument to the glory of the Russian fleet. Catherine the Great drew attention to the special position of St. Nicholas Cathedral. By the beginning of her reign, the construction of the temple was almost completed, and the lower temple was already consecrated. The new temple in splendor and size at that time was inferior only to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. At the consecration of the cathedral, the empress “orally commanded” the newly consecrated church to be called the Naval Cathedral. This command determined the entire future fate of the temple and its significance for the history of the Russian fleet.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to get into that part of the temple where marble plaques with the names of the lost ships are installed. Therefore, I photographed only the part that was open:
Well, I came to the stele in the Nikolsky Garden ... The monument was built according to the project of the architect-artist Ya. I. Filotey. Three slabs of black granite are placed on a concrete foundation. The pedestal is made of red fine-grained granite and an obelisk topped with a bronze eagle with a cross is placed on it. On the front side of the pedestal there is a bronze bas-relief of an armadillo in battle, and below it is a list of officers and conductors. On the other three sides there is a list of names of all the lower ranks in the provinces. Above these boards in a bronze wreath was placed the image of St. Nicholas with the inscription laid by Maria Feodorovna: “Eternal memory to the heroes of the Guards Crew dear to me, who valiantly died in the battles of the past Russo-Japanese War on the squadron battleships Emperor Alexander III, Petropavlovsk and the cruisers Admiral Nakhimov and Ural. MARIA". In another wreath is the text of the Gospel of John XV, 13: "No one has more than this love, but who will lay down his life for his friends." In the third, a map of the armadillo's route from Baltic Sea to the island of Tsushima, and in the fourth - the inscription "To the Hero of the battleship" Emperor Alexander III ". Guards Crew. The obelisk was crowned with a bronze eagle with a cross...
I began this note with an excerpt from the work of Valentin Pikul, which describes the death of "Alexander III", I also want to finish the story about him with a quote, but from another book ...
“The Suvorov was replaced by the Alexander III, whose name will forever remain associated with the most terrible memories of the horrors of Tsushima. After the squadron lost the admiral, he became the head of the battle column and led it further. All the fire fell on this battleship twelve Japanese ships. And he, taking on the brunt of the artillery strike, at the cost of his death, saved the rest of our ships. In a hopeless situation of battle, he sometimes even showed the initiative to which he was capable, more than once covered the Suvorov with himself and tried to break through to north under the tail of the enemy column. Once he managed to take advantage of the fog and temporarily remove the squadron from fire. For several hours he fought with outstanding courage against the overwhelming forces of the enemy. By evening it was no longer a war, but a massacre.
The battleship "Alexander III", like other ships, finally could not withstand the enemy onslaught. At six o'clock, heeling heavily, he went out of action. His appearance at that time was terrible. With a mass of holes in the sides, with destroyed upper superstructures, he was completely shrouded in black smoke. From the gaps, from the heap. of broken parts, fountains of fire burst out. It seemed that the fire was about to reach the bomb magazines and the hook chambers and the ship would fly into the air. But the battleship recovered after a while and, weakly firing back, again joined the battle column. This was the last attempt to resist the enemy.
What happened during the battle on its bridges, in the conning tower, in the towers and on the decks? Who exactly was the actual commander who so talentedly maneuvered in the iron grip of the Japanese? Was it the commander of the ship, captain 1st rank Bukhvostov, his senior officer Nelemyannikov, or, in the end, the last junior midshipman who survived in the ranks? Or maybe, when none of the officers were left, the ship, and behind it the entire squadron, was led by a senior boatswain or a simple helmsman? This will forever remain a secret.
But the behavior of this proud ship in the most terrible naval battle that history knows will surprise many.
The battleship, having entered service again, moved already to the middle of the column, and gave way to its honorary head place to the Borodino of the same type. Here, in a new place, "Alexander III" held out for another twenty or thirty minutes. It was enough for him to undergo a few more hits of large-caliber shells to finally lose last strength. This time it rolled to the left. Obviously, his steering gear had deteriorated, the steering wheel remained put on board. The circulation caused a strong roll. Water, spilling inside the armadillo, rushed to the tilted side, and immediately it was all over ...
From the cruisers "Admiral Nakhimov" and "Vladimir Monomakh", following the battleship, they saw how it fell on its side, like a cut oak. Many of his crew fell into the sea, others, as the ship turned over, crawled along its bottom to the keel. Then he immediately turned over and continued to swim in this position for about two minutes. People stuck to its huge bottom, overgrown with algae. Believing that he would still remain on the surface of the sea for a long time, those who were already floundering in the waves climbed on him. From afar it seemed that it was a sea monster swimming, spreading strands of algae and showing the red ridge of the keel. The people crawling on it looked like crabs.
The remaining ships, fighting with the enemy, moved on. The wind roamed freely, blowing away to new lands. Where the "Alexander III" was, large waves rolled, shaking on their ridges the floating fragments of a tree, mute signs of a terrible drama. And no one will ever tell what kind of torment the people experienced on this battleship: out of nine hundred people of its crew, not a single one survived.
A. Novikov-Priboy, "Tsushima"
Sea of Japan near Busan, Tsushima Island somewhere over the horizon:
- Baltic Shipyard
- Vasilyevsky Island, Oblique Line
- VO, 26-27 line
- VO, Leather line
- VO, Oil Channel
- VO, 22-23 line
- Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment
